Retaining device.



IA. 8. SCHOENKY.

RETAINING DEVICE.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 19M.

. Patented May 22, 1917.

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RETAINING DEVICE.

Patented May 22, 191?.

Application filed May 25, 1914. Serial No. 840,749.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, AUGUST R. SoHoENKY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Somerville, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRetaining Devices, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing bad therein to the-accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to retaining devices, and is herein illustratedfor convemence as applied for the purpose of retaining the bobbin withinthe shuttle of a lock stitch sewing machine, although obviously theinvention might be employed for analogous purposes. More especially thisinvention relates to the class of retaining devices for sewing machineshuttles or bobbins involving an arm or retainer which is pivotedadjacent to the shuttle box and is adapted to be swung between open andclosed positions, so that it properly serves to hold the bobbin in theface of the shuttle durin the operation of the machine and may e openedwhen the machine is not operating, soas to permit inspection, re-

placement and repair.

An object of the present lnvention is to generally improve and simplifyretaining devices of the kind referred to and to provide an improved andsimple means of normally efi'ectin the locking ofthe retainer in closedposition. Another object is to provide a novel and improved structurebetter than those heretofore known whereby, with the use of a singlehandle or operating device, the retainer may be both opened and shut,and when shut may be both locked and unlocked, thus dispensing with theneed of the operator employing both hands for opening or closin theretainer. Other objects hereof will e elucidated during the hereinafterfollowing description of the present invention.

invention showing it applied to the retaining of a bobbin within arotary shuttle, the retainer being in closed position.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l with the retainer in open position.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation with the parts adjusted as in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial horizontal section taken on the plane 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a partial vertical section taken on the plane 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a partial horizontal section taken on the plane 6--6 of Fig.3.

The present invention includes the novel combination with the retainerswingable between open and closed positions, of a brace which iseccentrically pivoted to the retainer, or, what is the same thing, to apart rigid with the retainer, together with a suitable means that isoperative when the retainer is closed and which serves to block thepivoted brace against endwise movement is able to be opened bydisplacing the brace.

The invention also includes the combination with such retainer, braceand blocking means, of a single handle which is adapted both to swin thebrace into or out of the blocked positlon, and, when the brace is out ofblocked position, to swing the retainer open .or shut; and specificallysuch handle is connected to the brace, and acts through the brace forswinging the retainer.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, a fixed portion -10 of thesewing machine frame supports the fixed shuttle box 11, in which rotatesthe circular shuttle 12 which in turn carries the bobbin 13. The bobbinhas a vertical projection 14 provided for the purpose of engaging withand being retained in position by the recessed portion out of theshuttle and held through the pro-- jection 14 against rotation. It willbe understood that the projection 14 and the recess in 15 have suchrelation that the underthread or needle thread of the machine can epassed around the shuttle in formin each stitch so as to interlock withthe s uttle tially a part thereof, namely, the vertical ful- 'crum s aft17 formed with shoulders or ste 's' to give it greater solidity offittintg, an at the upper .part of the fulcrum shat, an enlargement 18which may be considered as a crank disk, as it affords the means for anoffset or eccentric connection between the retainer and the brace, to behereinafter described; The parts. 16, 17 and 18, being rigid, swingtogether. Their. further details will be later described.

A novel and important element of the present invention is the brace 20shown in the form of a strut, it being pivotally connected to theretainer at an eccentric point and adapted to swing,-as will behereinafter described, into and out of its blocked position. Instead ofconnecting the brace 20 directly to the swinging arm portion of theretainer, it is shown pivoted at the top side of the crank disk 18,which is rigid with the retainer. Such a pivotal connection isconveniently afforded by a crank pm or stud 21, preferably integral withthe brace 20 and fitting in a circular recess in the top of the crankdisk 18. The free or swinging end'22 of the brace is the part thereofwhich is adapted to be blocked to preclude opening movement of theretainer when closed.

Referring to Fig. 1, it is obvious that, if the brace or strut 20 can beheld or blocked against movement when the retainer is closed, suchaction will effect the locking of the retainer. While the relativearrangement of the parts might be considerably altered, the crank pin 21in Fig. 1 is shown located to the rear of the fulcrum shaft 17, formingthe axis of swinging 'of the retainer, and the brace 20in this figureextends directly to the right. If now the right-hand end 22 of the bracebe held so as to prevent endwise movement of the brace, this will renderthe crank pin 21 absolutely immovable, so that the retainer becomessecurely locked. The following constitutes a 'convenient blocking meansacting at the free end 22 of the brace to prevent endwise movement ofthe brace.

A blocking abutment 24 is shown consisting of a member preferably rigidwith the frame and presenting at its left side a vertical surfacestanding substantially at right anglesto the direction of the brace 20when the retainer is closed and the brace blocked. The abutment. 24, infact, constitutes the blocking means, the brace fitting snugly betweenthe crank stud 21 and the abutment, being so dimensioned as to hold theparts tightly in position when swung into place, the abutment holdingthe brace against-endmaepos wise movement and the brace locking theretainer against any movement.

On the other hand, one merely has to swing the brace 20 forwardly tothrow it out of blocked position and to permit or cause the opening ofthe retainer.

Itwill be seen that the upper side of the disk 18 is provided with adepressed portion.

or recess upon which the brace 20 is pivoted and an upstanding orelevated portion 25, which, as seen in Fig. 4, limits the swingingmovement of the brace. A cover plate 26 of circular form is secured onto of the elevated part 25 of the crank dis where it is secured by ascrew 27 and by engagement with the stud 21 which projects upwardly to apoint above the cover plate. In this wayt e brace is inclosed andprotected, and the upwardl projecting stud thereof affords a means 0operating it. The stud 21 above where it projects through the coverplate26 is ke ed, and has fitted over it the apertured hu of a lever28-forming part of an operating handle 29, which, by the describedconstruction, is rendered rigid with the brace 20 and able to swing itinto and out of blocked position.

By the described arrangement it will be i causes the retainer to swingclosed and thereafter, upon reaching the position of Figs. 1, 3 and 4,blocks the brace and therefore locks the retainer shut. The describedcombination, therefore, attains the chief advantages, hereinbeforerecited.

Certain matters of preferred detail will now be described. In order toassist the operator' to bring the parts accurately to blocked positionwithout going beyond'such position, there may be provided an adjustablestop device consisting of a set screw 32 formed in a forwardly extendingportion of the retainer or the fulcrum shaft swinging therewith, andadapted, when the parts are in closed position, to abut against a fixedportion of the machine frame, as best indicated in Fig. 3, a lock nut33serving to secure the .set screw in its adjustment.

It will be understood that when the parts are in the position of Figs.1, 3 and 4, the retainer i s 1ocked in closed position. The exactposltion of the free end or head 15 of the retainer arm is of someimportance, and,

in order to accurately position it when the parts are locked, thefollowing convenient adjusting means may be employed. The retainer armat the point where it is rigidly connected to the fulcrum shaft 17 maybe formed in two parts, namely, the lower and left-hand part 39, whichis directly keyed to 'the fulcrum shaft and the part 40 from which theswinging arm actually extends. An adjusting screw 41 between the parts39 and 40 permits slight relative adjustment between them, so that thearm may be initially accurately positioned. A look nut 42 serves to lockthe adjusting screw 41 against accidental displacement.

To limit the opening er outward swinging of the retainer, for example,to the position shown in Fig. 2, the crank stud 21 comes into contactwith the abutment 24, as seen in Fig. 2.

The complete operation of the device will be readily understood from theabove description.

The original adjustment of the device is simple. With the nuts 19, 33and 42 loosened, the operator will first accurately position theretainer with respect to the shuttle, and will then close the screw 42into contact with its fixed abutment. This forms a positive stop for theinward motion of the retainer. The lock nut 33 is then tightened tosecure the screw 32. The screw 41 will then be turned or closed in orderto effect a proper relative adjustment as between the brace and theabutment 24. The operator will repeatedly try handle 29 while adjustingthe screw until the parts are sufliciently tight to cause the brace tofirmly cramp orbind against the abutment. The lock nut 42 will then betightened to secure the screw 41 in place, and finally the nut 19 willbe tightened to render the retainer substantially rigid with the fulcrumshaft 17. There will usually be insuflicient wear to re- 5 quire aroller on the end of the brace, and

any little wear is easily taken up by readjusting screw 41.

It will thus be seen that a retaining device has been describedaccomplishing the objects and attaining the advantages hereinbeforereferred to, and other advantages will be apparent to those skilled inthe art. Since many matters of form, combination, arrangement, designand detail may be variously modified without departing from theprinciples hereof, no limitations to such features are intendedexcepting so far as specified in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Retaining means for sewing machine, shuttles comprising, incombination with a retainer swingable between closed and open positions,a brace eccentrically and movably mounted upon the retainer in a mannerto 5 permit shifting thereof relatively to the retainer between blockedand unblocked position, and a permanently s ationary blocking abutmentadapted to block the brace and thereby prevent opening of the closedretainer. r

Retaining means for sewing machine shuttles comprising, in combinationwith a retainer swingable between closed and open positions, a braceeccentrically and movably mounted upon the retainer in a manner topermif) shifting thereof relatively to the retainer etween blocked andunblocked position, and a. blocking member normally disengaged from saidbrace and adapted to be engaged by and to block the brace when theretainer is closed, and the brace is in blocked position. i

3. Retaining means for sewing machine shuttles comprising in combinationwith a retainer swingable between closed and open positions, a braceeccentrically and movably mounted upon the retainer in a manner topermit a limited shifting thereof relatively to the retainer, and ablocking abutment unconnected with said brace and adapted to be met bythe brace and to block it a ainst movement with the retainer, where ylock the retainer when the latter is closed, and a control handle soconnected that. one operative movement thereof unblocks the brace andthereupon opens the retainer.

4. Retaining means for sewing machine shuttles comprising, incombination with the stationary parts of the machine, a fulcrumedretainer arm having an eccentric pivot rigid therewith, and a rigidbrace piece swingably mounted on said pivot, said race shaped formanipulation and con structed and arranged to be cramped against astationary part when the retainer is closed, so as to block the braceagainst movement with the retainer.

5. Retaining means for sewing machine shuttles comprising, incombination with the stationary parts of the machine, a fulcrumedretainer arm having an eccentric plvot rigid therewith, .and a rigidbrace piece swmgably mounted on said pivot, said brace shaped formanipulation and constructed and arranged to, be cramped against astationary part when the retainer is closed, so as to block the braceagainst movement with the retainer, and said brace and retainer beingconstructed so that when the brace is unblocked, its swinging will swingthe retainer 0 en or shut.

6. A retaining device for sewing machine shuttles, comprising incombination, a retainer fitted to swing between closed and openpositions, a brace pivotally connected to the retainer at an eccentricpoint, and adapted to swing into and from blocked position, and astationary blocking member adapted to be engaged by said brace.

7. A retaining device for sewing machine shuttles, comprisin incombination, a retainer fitted to swing between closed and openpositions, a brace pivotally connected to the retainer at an eccentricoint, and adapted to swing into and from b ocked osition, and astationary blocking mem r adapted to have the free end of said bracewedged against it. v

8. A retaining device for sewing machine shuttles comprising incombination, a retainer litted to swing between closed and openpositions, a brace pivotally connected to the retainer at an eccentricpoint, and adapted to swing into and from blocked position, and astationaryijblocking member adapted to be engaged by said brace, and ahandle for moving the brace to block and unblock it.

9. A retaining device for sewing machine shuttles, comprising incombination, a retainer fitted to swing between closed and 'openpositions, a brace pivotally connected to the retainerat an eccentricpoint, and

7 adapted to swing into and from blocked osition, and a stationaryblocking mem er adapted to be engaged by said brace, said brace being soconnected to said retainer that swinging the brace may swing theretainer.

10. A retaining device for sewing machine shuttles, comprising incombination, a

' chine shuttles, comprising in combination, a

retainer fitted to swing between closed and open positions, a bracepivotally connected to the retainer at an eccentric point, and adaptedto swing into and from blocked 0,- sition, and a stationary blocking memer adapted to be engaged by said brace, said a brace being so connectedto said retainer that swinging the brace may swing the retainer, and asingle handle movable for first nnblocking the brace and then openingthe retainer, and on the reverse movement efiect- ,ing the closing ofthe retainer and blocking of the brace.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST R. SCHOENKY.

Witnesses:

F. L. CADY, J. WARREN NIoHoLs.

